APIA Landlord Insurance

Leesonr

APIA Landord Insurance - Avoid at all costs

As of 7 May 2018, Apia, totally in contrast to their adverts on TV, do no look after their clients. They provided inaccurate, misleading, and even conflicting information (in writing) when I put in a claim . During that "recent" claim they failed to communicate - I had to phone over and over again to find out what was happening, and then supply the same documents over and over (and the realestate had to also - one document was supplied 5 times!) - so far it has been 7 months from lodging the claim - to almost finalised now. I had to go to the ombudsman to get action - and the claim amount was then nearly doubled when reviewed - but still leaves me nearly 21 000 out of pocket due the small print of things specifically not covered - which are not mentioned in the policy, but in the product disclosure statement - and the way they attribute damage to "tennant neglect" or "lack of cleanliness" (not covered), compared to "malicious damage" (may be covered if you can prove it was malicious). Tennants trashed the place and though punch holes in the wall are covered by the policy - water damage from shower recess is specifically excluded (unless it can be shown they clearly took a hammer to the recess to make it obviously malicious - broken connections/drains are not enough) .Their online website policy summary is also inaccurate - it lists some of the excesses that will apply to your policy, but not all of them - and gives no indication on that site that there are other excesses that will apply, you will have to rely on the original paper copy they send for this - I have been trying to get this changed also (no luck yet, they just claim that is a different department and have submitted the feedback for review). I believe it is reasonable to expect a policy summary you can look up online in your online account with them - should be accurate, and they agree - they just haven't changed anything. Avoid Apia at all costs - when you need them, you will find them sadly wanting.

Insurance claim madeYes

JB8888

I agree with Marge below!!

I had similar experiences with Apia. As soon as my 'claim' with them was 'settled', I changed policies. At one stage, it became so stressful about what I could 'claim', I was willing to seek discussion with the Ombudsman about this company and the way they do business. Review CAREFULLY, what you are getting and don't rely on the company's pleasantries.

Insurance claim madeYes

Marge

Want THE peace of mind you get from good landlord insurance? Avoid APIA at all costs!

Tenants abandoned our rental house leaving every room like a filthy rubbish dump. A cat and dog had been kept in the house so animal faeces were in every room, piles of dirty clothing, and moulding bad food everywhere. The smell was appalling, the carpets were rank! Everything stank, the walls were stained, blinds ripped and broken, nothing could be salvaged. Everything had to be renewed, paint, blinds, carpet, underlay etc. We have been with APIA for many years, never made a claim prior to this. They denied our claim saying it was a matter of cleanliness and they don't pay out on cleanliness. They did pay for a small pane of broken glass, approx $150! The tenants have gone, their families are not accepting responsibility, the insurance company is a waste of space! Who is looking after the landlord?

eon

2 claims outstanding with APIA

The builder for APIA inspected the property but refused to do the work I told APIA my husband & a builder will complete (water damage). They are now "waiting for the same builder to inspect the work " before pay out !First they said they are busy with storm damage until I pointed out claim from June 1016 ? My last communication, I said he is not going to inspect -not interested Please find another builderThe other claim is for loss of rent -last communication consultant tried to say they did not have required paperwork! She then found it I am still waiting for them to get the builder to reply to them!Eon

The builder refused to do work/could not be contacted & was holding up the problem being fixed, we could not have tenants in the Unit ! I had to contact the builder myself and told him he was costing us money ! The claim with APIA has been resolved we sent them costs & accounts from work we did/arranged ourselves and they paid a good compensation.yvonne ziesing

Insurance claim madeYes

Fed Up

Don't touch APIA with a 10 foot barge pole!

On the 24/02/16 my real estate agent lodged a claim for loss of rent for the period 17/08/2015 to 6/11/2015. The real estate agent lodged the required documents on my behalf that day and notified Apia that the property will not be advertised/tenanted as I've decided to sell the property, hence the lack of proof of advertising or new tenancy agreement, which Apia required. When the real estate agent had no reply from Apia after the required 17 working day waiting period, I've contacted Apia and after a 40 minutes wait - spoke to a representative on the 18/03/16. He told me that the claim was declined, as that there was no proof of advertising or a new tenancy agreement.I explained to him that I am selling the property and as such it will not be advertised for rent, as that makes it harder to market and sell the property, not to mention inconveniencing a new tenant. I've provided Apia with the Sale Contract and the Market Report. The rep promised to call me back within 24 hours. After the stated 24 hour wait, I received no contact from Apia.On the 30/03/16 I made a phone call to Apia - another lengthy wait - regarding my claim. I was informed that an email was sent to me on the 22/03/16. This email has never arrived, nor did it end up in my Junk mail box. Interestingly, the customer service rep resent the email while we were talking and it immediately showed up in my inbox. When I notified Apia that the property ceased to be tenanted (as required in the PDS page 11, due to the pending settlement), I was informed by another customer service rep, that there is no need for me to call unless the settlement has taken place and I want to cancel the policy. The property was sold and settled on the 11/04/16. I've lodge a complaint with the FOS. Waiting for a result. After being with them for over 8 years I've cancelled all - another 4 - policies with this mob.

Insurance claim madeYes

Mark S

Slow, lazy, rude and are not truthful.

Made a claim with Apia who by the way are owned by Suncorp Insurance and if I had been aware that Apia is just a guise for Suncorp I would have avoided them.Claim was lodged on the 5th November 2015 and have been waiting and waiting for their repairer to attend the property. Sent an email and made calls but to no avail. Received a phone call from a rude lady at Apia yesterday the 5th of January 2016 who tried telling me the delays were caused by the Christmas and New Year break. When I challenged her that she was using this as an excuse she suddenly decided that in fact their repair representative had been very busy. I will be cancelling the five policies we have with them.

Insurance claim madeYes

Cathy

Would Definitely not recommend APIA Landlord Insurance

Agree with "Waste of Money". They do not pay or cover damage by tenants unless it is deemed by them to be malicious. Nor do they cover loss of rental - unless it is deemed to be malicious and "uninhabitable" by their assessors. Everything is deemed to be an "accident". Refused to pay $295 for repair work done by ex-agents repair and maintenance guy. Reason: "The assessors did not take note of it"!!! When I advised Belinda how unhappy I was with their service, I was advised to "read the policy". Needless to say, I have cancelled my policy with APIA and have signed up with another reputable insurer who covers malicious and accidental damage by tenants, non-payment of rental and much, much more. One does not take out landlords insurance in the hope that one can make a claim, but should the need arise when tenants abuse and damage one's property, it would be comforting to know that the landlord is covered.

Keith

They should not call this landlord insurance

Apia landlord insurance is not worth considering and they should not call it Landlord insurance. I recently had a claim where the carpets in the property which were only three years old were so soiled they could not be cleaned and had to be replaced. Also the walls in the property had drawings from children all over them and had to be repainted. In addition I had in excess of $4000 rent owing. Apia would not cover the replacement of carpets, repainting of walls and do not cover the first four weeks of rent (which is the bond). Apparently the damage is not considered malicious which pretty much means any damage to the property is not covered.Please do not buy this insurance if you want decent coverage.

Sonyamaree

Apia helps me again.

I've already written a review in praise of Apia as they went above and beyond after we had massive damage to two houses caused by cyclone Yasi. Well, they've done it again. I recently had a claim to make because of bad tenants. they kept me informed of all the progress, got an assessors out to my house promptly and were so easy to deal with.Easy to deal with, prompt, quick with payment.The only thing I wish they would change is to tailor their insurance as I had to change insurers for a house I bought in a flood zone and as they incorporate flood cover in all their insurance, they wouldn't cover this house as it was a new policy.

macfadcg

Would Not recommend APIA Landlord Insurance

I own a Granny Flat. It got flooded recently form stormwater overflow and the tenant sat in a wet studio for 5 days before an assessor came out. By this time the carpet had started to smell. They organised for the carpet guys to come out and they pulled out the underlay and left large fans to circulate to dry the carpet. Noisy damned things that the tenant had to turn off of an evening so he could think!They then wanted me to pay my $1K excess Prior to them relaying the carpet. I advised them I did not want the smelly carpet relayed. By this time 4 weeks had passed after many follow-up calls. They said this was the normal time it takes to replace/repair any water damage. The carpet was less than 2 years old and I said new carpet should be laid. The girl on the phone tried to tell me this was how it was going to be. I said 'no its not'. After they refused to relay the carpet, I went to Bunnings and for less than $1K, I got new carpet laid with underlay. 10 to Bunnings / 0 to APIA. Dont touch them. They are underwitten by Suncorp Insurance QLD. Only one person in claims was considerate and listened. The others were aggressive.CostYou get what you pay for

dissatisfied26

A waste of money

These guys will find every which way to not pay your claim. Between charging you multiple excesses for upstairs and downstairs on your property, to denying that anything could be considered malicious damage (even the tenant setting the place on fire after removing a smoke alarm), just stay away from apia.

everything, including the worst customer service I've ever experienced.

john_douglass

Don't believe a word they say.

I have taken out Landlord Insurance with APIA for the last 2 years and this year made a claim to repair damage to the toilet and vanity room in my rental property caused by a broken pipe. They agreed to cover the damage, gave me a claim number and arranged to have the claim assessed. From that point on I have had the complete run-around by their claims department (which just happens to be AAMI, enough said). From the nine plus phone calls I have made I have been able to speak to the claims person only once. None of the other calls have ever been returned. I was able to contact the repair company to try to find out what was happening but it appears the information they had is conflicting with what the claims department told me. Now I am back on the round-about again trying to get answers and the the repair done. The tenants are quite understandably becoming angry as they still pay rent but now have a sub-standard property. Rang APIA again today to complain about the service and was immediately transferred back to AAMI claim department. Was told the claims person was busy and would call back. Here we go again.Never go anywhere near this company.

They will take your money alright, but thats all, when it comes to claim, forget it.

Questions & Answers

Does this cover meth lab clean up, should in the worse case does this occur?

No answers

I have read many reviews about landlord insurance here on product review, and I have to say, I am very reluctant to use any landlord insurance for fear that should I ever have to make a claim it will not be honored. On top of all that, imagine how much money I would be wasted on premiums only to be bitterly frustrated and distraught as some of these people have experienced.
Is there an honest landlord insurance company out there that will honor their claims and not abscond when you really need them?

2 answers

The cost of the insurance is small, compared to the damage a bad tenant can cause. On top of it it's tax deductable, so don't worry about the cost. But, do spend a great deal of time reading the policy details. If it comes to the crunch, and the company is not paying up, be prepared to take your case to the highest authority. I've had this type of policy with various insurers for the past 20 years and made a few claims. While they paid up - except Apia the last time - the amount paid is never the amount you claim. They got their ways to cut their losses. But as a landlord, you cannot be without this insurance! As a footnote, Apia did pay handsomely after taking my case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), so it's worth the hassle.My money and time is far too valuable to be wasted chasing insurance payments. I am seriously fed up with all these insurance companies! There comes a time to say enough is enough! I will not be taking out Landlord insurance anymore. It's high time we starve these organizations out!

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